Chapter 27
Corinne jolted awake, pressing her palm over her mouth as she listened to the silence of the dormitory around her. She hadn't screamed, she hadn't woken anyone up. It was still silent.
She let herself fall back against her pillows for only a second, grimacing at the sheen of sweat from her nightmare and pushing the blankets off from her legs, sliding soundlessly onto the wooden floor and sneaking to her dresser. She threw on the black sweater, skirt and tights and let herself into the darkness of the hallway, climbing down the familiar staircase into the common room.
The light was just beginning to creep over the forbidden forest in the distance and she sighed, glancing at her watch. It was too early for breakfast, and frankly she wasn't sure what the rules were for reverse curfew. How early was still considered wandering the castle at night?
Still, after allowing herself to pause near the window for a while, watching as the birds circled the tallest trees in the distance, she let herself out of the warmth of the common room and into the chilly corridors, down the first of many staircases to the Great Hall.
Her eyes were practically aching for sleep, though she knew all too well what would happen if she had tried to lay back down after the nightmare. These days, she either laid awake in bed for hours feeling numb, or allowed the anxiety to fill her chest and run itself through her veins until her entire body was shaking, even in the dry heat of Spain over the summer.
She paused as she reached the final staircase, her breath stilling in her chest as memories flooded her mind. This was where she'd met Cedric for the Yule Ball, for so many of their dates, before breakfasts, Hogsmeade trips... Her eyes trailed over the space along the stone wall in front of her, and she could practically see the sandy hair, the dark black suit, the perfect smile...
She took a shaky breath and took the final few steps, thankful that the Great Hall's doors were in fact parted, though the room was not lit with any lanterns, the faint orange light from the enchanted ceiling spilling over the four empty tables.
She walked past the first two and slid into the bench at the end of the table she knew would be filled with Hufflepuffs in just a few hours, tucking her hands in her lap and letting her eyes drift back to the ceiling to watch as the sun climbed higher above the castle.
She should be sleeping. Resting for a full day of classes. She wished it were that simple. That she wasn't feeling everything so perfectly. That she could find any escape in sleep the way everyone else could.
Still, she was proud of herself. For getting out of bed. For making it through the first week. For turning in the first paper that she would have been working on with Cedric by her side if last year hadn't turned out the way it had.
Corinne had sat alone in the silent Hall for a long time before voices began to emerge, students entering the Great Hall, anxious for breakfast after a full night's sleep, surely all glancing at the lone blonde at a table all alone, though her back was to the door and she didn't care to turn around.
"Hey!" The tired voice shook her from her thoughts, and she finally pulled her eyes up to the tall brunette before her, forcing her best impression of smile to her face. "You're up early. Friends still asleep?"
She shrugged, since she truthfully had no idea whether Ella and Taylor were awake or not.
"Did you already eat?" Lucas finally dropped into the seat against her, Mark and John at his side offering her matching smiles laced with pity as they all began to pile breakfast onto their plates.
"Yeah." She lied, pouring herself a mug of hot coffee just to have something to warm up her fingers.
"How are classes?" Mark asked, and she nodded as an answer.
"How do you like Umbridge?" Lucas asked, obviously not planning to let her sit in silence.
She shot him a look, though decided that he truly wasn't trying to make fun of her or bring up the vomiting incident. Maybe word hadn't spread to the Hufflepuffs yet.
"She's dull."
"Yeah, no kidding." John snorted, "No magic in Defense Against the Dark Arts? I should have dropped it."
"We all should have dropped it."
"What else would we do all day?" Mark shrugged, going for seconds from the tower of pancakes at the center of the table.
"At least Potions is still just as difficult." Lucas murmured, meeting Corinne's eyes once again. "I could use a decent partner, if you..." He trailed off, obviously very aware of the partner he was replacing.
"Yeah." She agreed, not letting her mind go to Cedric. Not now. "Sounds good. Thanks, Luke."
"Course." His lips pulled into a tight smile as they finished their food, Corinne's coffee losing heat and fading colder in her fingers as she waited.
✵
Ella nodded as Corinne muttered something about heading up early, praying her friend was planning to sleep... the circles beneath her eyes were growing darker with each passing day and she couldn't remember the last time she had woken up with Corinne in bed.
"We'll be up in a bit. You let us know if you need anything?" Taylor called, though her words apparently fell on deaf ears as Corinne turned the corner out of sight.
The girls sat in silence for a few moments before meeting each others eyes.
"Do you think we should tell McGonagall?" Taylor whispered through the crowded common room, though they had thankfully staked out an empty couch to the side of the roaring fire.
"Tell her what? She's sad? Of course she's sad."
"She's not sleeping."
"She's sleeping a little." Ella muttered.
"I'm not convinced." Taylor shook her head, "I think she lays there a few hours and then gets up-"
"And goes where?"
"I'm not sure... We could follow her-"
"Or we could ask her-" Ella pointed out, cutting her words off at once as Fred appeared at their side, his shadow ghosting over the couch.
"Hi." He muttered, obviously having heard the end of their conversation.
"Weasley." Taylor tried for a smile, though even Fred could see through her attempt.
"How is she?"
"Fred..." Ella sighed, pressing her fist against her forehead.
"You can tell me." He nodded, taking the empty seat across from them.
"There's nothing to tell." Taylor shook her head quickly.
"She..." Fred glanced towards the staircase, as if half expecting to see Corinne peek around the corner. "She looks tired."
Neither girl spoke for a few moments, before Ella sighed once again. "Yeah... We don't think she's sleeping very well."
"Very well?" Fred echoed, leaning forward at the edge of the couch.
"She's got these..." Taylor started, ignoring Ella's warning glare. "She wakes up most nights, she usually screams and then it will go silent. I'm not sure if they wake her up or... what..."
"She's having nightmares?" Fred gathered.
"I think so." Taylor whispered now.
Fred glanced once again to the empty staircase, letting his mind wander up to the dormitories above. She could ask Pomfrey for a sleeping draught. She should ask for something. Maybe he'd ask McGonagall to talk to her. Maybe he'd talk to her... He shook his head quickly, remembering both Ella's and George's warning to give her some space.
"Will you both just..." He muttered, already imagining the look that would grace their faces at his request. "Let me know if it gets any worse? Or, if she needs anything. Anything. You can come find me. She doesn't have to know, either. You can leave me out of it. I... I just want to help."
Ella nodded, a nervous look painted across her face.
"Sure, Weasley." She answered and he nodded back before standing up. "Thanks."
"Night." He muttered, starting off towards the boys dorms, stealing one last glance at the girls staircase as he passed.
✵
Lucas finished bottling their potion which Corinne was thankful for, since theirs had somehow managed to form a thick, gray sludge, and she was not looking forward to Snape's glare when they handed it in.
"I'll see you later." Lucas offered her half a smile as he started towards the front, and Corinne nodded back, letting her gaze fall to the books piled on their shared desk for only a second before they were slid easily into someone's arms. Her eyes snapped up, her stomach relaxing only slightly when she found George stood before her.
"Thought I was Fred?" He asked, his tone joking, the corner of his mouth twisting into a knowing smirk.
"I didn't say..."
"You didn't have to." He nodded towards the hallway. "Come on, I'll walk you."
"That's suspiciously nice." She murmured, partially under her breath as they left the classroom, the rest of the students dispersing in every direction.
"I'm supposed to be the nice one, last time I checked."
"Hmm." She hummed in agreement.
"Is he being nice to you?" George asked, the smile vanishing from his face. "My brother."
Corinne paused, finally looking up at the tall red head beside her.
"Did you tell him he had to be?"
"What? No!" George's eyes had gone wide, "Actually, I told him to leave you alone, but we all know how much good that did last year."
Corinne nodded, the pair falling into silence for a few moments as they climbed the steps back from the dungeons. "Well, thanks for trying."
"You just tell me if he starts misbehaving again. I can try to reign him in."
"Because that's worked so well in the past?"
"Well, I've been considering new plans of action. Blackmail? Torture?"
She huffed out a small laugh, missing the smile that stretched over George's face at the response.
"What's your next class?"
"Transfiguration..." She replied, glancing around for Ella and Taylor.
"I'll walk you."
"You don't have to."
"It's no trouble. Got nothing else to do, lots of free periods." He shrugged. "And I just wanted to say too... If you need a potions partner, I'd work with you... You know, if it's... hard, working with..." He trailed off, Corinne meeting his eyes again, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "His friends."
"They're my friends too." She answered, her voice sounding quite small in the busy hallway.
"No, right! Of course. Just wanted to make sure..." He stammered as they reached the doorway to McGonagall's classroom.
"Thanks, Weasley." Corinne said, reaching for her books at last and hurrying to find her desk beside her friends.
✵
The common room was practically empty, the entire house likely out on the stands, anxious for the first Quidditch match of the year, especially after missing them last year. Corinne had a book out in front of her, one she'd read before, a few years before, though she hadn't even cracked it open yet, her gaze stuck on the clouds rolling lazily past the windows at the other end of the room.
She pulled the tattered blanket higher up without thinking, listening to the wind whip past the stained glass of the tower. She didn't bother to look when the sound of footsteps echoed through the stairwell at her side before the room fell back into silence.
"Hey..." The familiar voice rang out, though she didn't move. Didn't bother to turn her head to meet the honey brown eyes. "You cold?"
She shrugged after a moment's pause. "Little."
Fred paused, his eyes raking over the small girl before him. It was only September. Sure, Gryffindor was often drafty, and the fire hadn't been lit yet across the common room, but it wasn't terribly cold. His eyes trailed over her face, the circles beneath her eyes, the shadows lining her cheekbones, the fading of the tan she'd returned to school with.
He glanced at his watch, knowing Angelina was already going to kill him. He was very late.
"Will I see you at the game?"
Corinne picked absentmindedly at the uneven piece of her thumb nail. The first game of the year. Gryffindor and Hufflepuff.
"I don't think so, Fred." She answered beneath her breath. "Don't really feel like... going out..."
Don't really feel like watching whoever they've picked as their new captain... their replacement captain. Replacement seeker.
"That's alright." Fred nodded, though it was mostly to himself, as she still hadn't even looked up at him. "Just wanted to know if I should be looking for you." He tried for a smile, though she didn't react. Even a familiar eye roll or scoff like he would have received for a comment like that last year.
"It's okay." He pressed on, pulling at the hem of his sweatshirt and yanking it over his head, not caring for how late he was anymore. Not caring how long the incoming lecture he was signing up for would be. He took a few steps closer to her couch, tossing the warm hoodie onto her lap and watching her eyes flicker down to the red fabric. "Stay warm, alright?"
He didn't wait to see if she would look to him now, or if she would throw it to the ground at her feet with a scowl. He didn't want to know if she put it on or not, and so he pushed through the portrait hole and started down the first of many staircases, letting his mind drift to the Quidditch pitch, to their first match in months.
Corinne ran the fabric through her fingers carefully. The sleeves were beginning to fray slightly, the color fading around the lion emblem on the chest. She had seen Fred in this exact hoodie on too many occasions to count. And now, he tossed it away like it was nothing to him.
She let her mind drift down to the Quidditch pitch, imagining the players filing out from the locker rooms, circling the stands, the crowd roaring in excitement. She thought back to the games she had gone to in the past, trying to pull any images of Cedric racing through the air, perfect grin stretched along his face as the wind pushed through his hair.
She shivered once again, pushing her arms through the remaining warmth of the Gryffindor hoodie and ran the fraying sleeve beneath her eye carefully to catch the first tear that had rolled down her cheek.